A

• Advance Directive: A legal document that outlines a person’s wishes regarding medical treatment in case they become unable to communicate.
• Advance Care Planning (ACP): The process of discussing and documenting healthcare preferences for future medical care.
• Aging in Place: The ability to live in one’s own home safely and independently as they age.
• Anatomical Gift: The donation of one’s organs, tissues, or body after death for medical research or transplantation.

B

• Beneficiary: A person or entity designated to receive assets, benefits, or proceeds from a will, trust, insurance policy, or retirement account.
• Burial Permit: A document required by law that authorizes the burial or cremation of a deceased person.

C

• Capacity: The ability to make informed decisions regarding personal, financial, and medical matters.
• Care Proxy: A person legally designated to make healthcare decisions on behalf of someone who is unable to do so.
• Cremation: A process that reduces a body to ashes using high heat.

D

• Death Certificate: An official document issued by the government certifying the date, location, and cause of death.
• Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order: A medical order stating that no resuscitative measures should be taken in case of cardiac or respiratory arrest.
• Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA): A legal document granting an individual authority to make financial or healthcare decisions on behalf of another person.

E

• Elder Law Attorney: A lawyer specializing in legal matters affecting older adults, including estate planning, guardianship, and Medicaid planning.
• Estate: The total assets and liabilities a person leaves behind after death.
• Estate Plan: A set of legal documents detailing how an individual’s assets and affairs should be managed and distributed after death.
• Executor: A person appointed in a will to manage the estate and carry out the deceased’s wishes.

F

• Funeral Planning: The process of arranging services, ceremonies, and final disposition for a deceased individual.
• Funeral Trust: A financial arrangement that allows funds to be set aside specifically for funeral expenses.

G

• Guardian: A person appointed to make personal, medical, or financial decisions on behalf of someone who is unable to do so.
• Guardianship: A legal process in which a court appoints a guardian for a minor or an incapacitated adult.

H

• Healthcare Proxy: A legal document allowing someone to make medical decisions for another person in case of incapacity.
• Hospice Care: Specialized care focused on comfort and quality of life for individuals with terminal illnesses.

I

• Informed Consent: The process of understanding and agreeing to medical treatments or procedures after receiving all relevant information.
• Interment: The burial or entombment of human remains.
• Intestate: The condition of dying without a legal will, resulting in asset distribution according to state laws.

L

• Last Will and Testament: A legal document specifying how an individual’s assets should be distributed after death.
• Legacy Planning: The process of preparing how personal values, wealth, and other important aspects of one’s life will be passed on to future generations.
• Living Trust: A legal arrangement where assets are placed in a trust and managed for beneficiaries during and after one’s lifetime.
• Living Will: A legal document specifying a person’s medical treatment preferences in the event they cannot communicate.

M

• Medical Power of Attorney: A legal document appointing someone to make healthcare decisions on behalf of another person.
• Memorial Service: A ceremony honoring a deceased person, often without the body present.
• Mortuary: A facility where deceased individuals are prepared for burial or cremation.

P

• Palliative Care: Specialized medical care focused on providing relief from symptoms and stress of serious illness.
• Per Stirpes: A legal term indicating that if a beneficiary predeceases the will-maker, their share is passed to their descendants.
• Pre-Need Funeral Plan: An arrangement in which funeral services are planned and paid for in advance.
• Probate: The legal process of validating a will and distributing assets.

R

• Residuary Estate: The portion of an estate remaining after debts, taxes, and specific bequests have been fulfilled.
• Revocable Trust: A trust that can be altered or revoked by the trustor during their lifetime.

T

• Testamentary Trust: A trust created by a will that takes effect upon the will-maker’s death.
• Trust: A legal arrangement in which assets are held and managed by a trustee for beneficiaries.
• Trustee: A person or institution appointed to manage a trust’s assets.

W

• Ward: A person under the care of a guardian appointed by a court.
• Widow’s Pension: A financial benefit provided to a surviving spouse after the death of their partner.
• Witness: An individual who observes and signs a legal document to confirm its validity.